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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

2004 Fender Stratocaster ST62-58US Electric Guitar Review

Aloha!

Today we are looking at a pretty cool Fender Stratocaster, a Japanese model ST-62-58US that I imported from overseas. To decode the model code a bit, this is a 1962 re-issue strat equipped with US made pickups that originally sold for 58,000 Yen. From outside appearances, it is a very faithful recreation of the original. When this guitar was made in 2004, the Yen was around 106 to the dollar, which equals approximately $525, which was a heck of a deal back then for such a great guitar.

This one has a very nice three-tone sunburst over what looks like an alder body. The factory used a quality three-ply white pickguard, which is nice as often times these come with a garish red tortoiseshell guard. On the back, the cavity cover is single-ply white, which is how these came from the Japanese factory.

The neck is super-nice, with good frets (vintage thin wire) and a very pretty rosewood fretboard. It has a small headstock with the proper logos and vintage-style inline tuners. The rest of the hardware includes a vintage-style tremolo bridge with bent steel saddles (marked with “FENDER” which is a nice touch).

All of these features are nice, but the magic of this guitar is in its electronics. These USA made ST-Vintage pickups are super-hot, and this axe sings like few Stratocasters I have ever played. It has the total package of the right looks and the perfect tone!

Like any of the Japanese-made Fender guitars, it is very well made, with level frets and good neck pocket clearance. Seven years later the finish still shines, though it has gotten a few nicks from normal playing. The frets and fretboard have some noticeable around the cowboy chords, but it has years to go before it needs any sort of attention.

Add all of this up and you get a super instrument. I had it set up with .010s and this thing is easry to play and sounds terrific. Be sure to check out one of these Made in Japan Fenders sometime, and I am sure you will be surprised about how much guitar you can get for your money!

1 comment:

I had a 1994 version of this, in a splendid candy apple red. The pickups had been swapped out for Fender Custom Shop 54s, all made and signed by Abigail Ybarra. I do miss that guitar, though it went to a friend who really loved it.